Buried Legends - Interlude 2: Shackles and Tethers
by MyHands
Summary: Part two of three short chapters, detailing the events that lead from small pockets of resistance to a full-fledged emancipation war. Part two depicts the renewal of the Avatar cycle.


The screaming was unbelievable. How could someone be in that much pain? Despite receiving a fight from the cold northern winds, Will managed to spark up a cigarette. How he had managed to fly them all here in safety had eluded him. The hot air warmed him from the inside, and he was reminded of Cathy. He missed her warm smile and her encouraging, sharp words. Lea emerged from the plane, having shed his metal armour in place of some much more warming and forgiving furs.

"She was quite the Avatar, don't you think?" he cut through the silence, and raised the conflict once again to the forefront of the young Earthbender's mind. He hated her for what she had taken from him, and she had ignored his demand. She wasn't allowed to die yet. He hadn't allowed it. He hadn't been able to do it himself. He cursed her under his breath as he dropped the frozen cigarette from his mouth and stubbed the faint glow beneath his feet.

"Tch. Too little too late." He spat, returning into the hold of the plane. It was cripplingly freezing, and there was no earth to bend into a shelter here, but at least he could hide from the pious morons who still believed that the Avatar was capable of fixing the world.

_No, the world is too far fucked._

* * *

Seemingly vanishing the second her body hit the waves, she found herself in another plane of existence. She lay there on the ground, grunting and moaning in agony. As her eyes opened and the fog in her mind lifted, she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. The colours were much more vibrant compared to the world she knew. They were almost ethereal. There she lay, in an overgrown jungle. A canopy stretching far above her line of sight, and the foliage rustled to a wind that seemed to ignore her entirely. It was an empty calmness, something she had been searching for her whole life. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes and, despite her best efforts to banish them, trailed down her cheeks. It was all over, she finally had the escape from the life she never wanted. Or so she thought.

As she struggled to her feet, ignoring her aching body, a figure cloaked in a blue-white light materialised before her. "I'm sorry Flynn, but I have something else I need you to do."

"Fuck off, Korra."

* * *

"It doesn't look like either of them will make it." Ray announced solemnly as she met with her two students.

"What do you mea n they're not going to make it?" Lea shouted violently, crumpling the plane slightly. "We've come so far! They have to make it! This isn't fair!"

Will simply lit another cigarette, taking a deep inhale and blowing out the air slowly. "What's going on?"

"The baby is ready to be born, but the process isn't happening. Something is stopping the birth from happening. I don't quite understand myself but... We don't have the facilities we need here, and if this goes on for much longer then they're both going to die of exhaustion."

The cogs began to whir within the fugitive's mind. What could possibly be stopping a baby from being born? It can't have been something physical; Kaatje had already made sure of that. There was something more to this. "What if the body is willing but the spirit is absent?" he spoke almost rhetorically, the answer obvious.

"What are you talking about?" Lea snapped. If anything, he was more angry at the fact that the novice had worked out an answer first.

"My guess is that this child is the new avatar. That much is obvious." He felt profound in a way, for being able to see what they could not. All of the pieces fit together, but the final puzzle was ugly. "Assuming that, Kinnara went into labour when Flynn exited this world and moved over to the next, right?" Still silence, both bending masters listened intently. "So that means that, while the General was dying at the time that the birth process started, she is not yet separated from this world. I don't know how, but somehow she's alive; her spirit is alive and she's not being allowed to pass onto the next world."

"So what you're saying is, put briefly..." Lea scratched the stubble on his chin with a free hand. "Is that Flynn is still alive, so the universe is rejecting what should be the new Avatar?"

"Precisely, which means that once again the whole world's fate rests on whether or not Flynn should be alive."

* * *

"Where are we going? Can I get to enjoying death already?" Flynn moaned consistently. Despite feeling no physical pain – or anything for that matter – she was exhausted. She was ready to let go, why was she being forced to remain tethered to her earthly body. A body which was now sinking to the bottom of the ocean, preparing to decay somewhere.

"We're almost there." Korra responded with patience. "This mission is shared by you and I, and neither of us can be free until the wrongs have been made right."

"You mean I have to clean up the mess you left by being weak?" Her words pierced, but Korra remained patient. She could do nothing in this world, after all. They walked in silence proceeding this, for what seemed like an eternity.

The landscape seemed to shift almost instantaneously from a luscious jungle into a desolate, cragged wasteland. In the epicentre of this terrain was a great, towering tree, residing under the light of two arches which connected to the land at opposing points. "What on Earth is this?" she spat.

"This is the source of the imbalance in your world, and this realm." They approached the tree, apparently crossing miles in a few short seconds. This gargantuan structure was a sight to behold, towering hundreds of feet above the two avatars. But what was most intriguing was the hollowed out centre of the tree – or rather, what was contained inside. Behind a faintly glowing barrier, lay a creature of considerable size. It was unlike anything Flynn had ever seen.

"What the fuck are you?"

* * *

"So what can we do about it?" the three Earthbenders had been stood in silence until it was broken by Lea. Knowing the problem hadn't provided a solution. His last cigarette drained, Will simply looked at the ground. The room stank of smoke, and the odd wisp floated through the air between them.

"Aside from entering the spirit world ourselves and finding Flynn, there's nothing we can do, is there?" Ray rebuked, obviously overcome by emotion. Everything they had done had all been for naught; the prison rescue, the sacrifices of her comrades, enlightening the Avatar. They were going to be stuck once more in a cycle of chaos, in a world that didn't make sense. If the new Avatar were to die before they were even given life, then what would be the point of it all. "And since Master Keng isn't here, we don't have a way in." She punched the wall, the clang echoing throughout the hold. "There's nothing we can do but put our faith in the Avatar. _Again._"

"Well let me know how that turns out for you." This was bullshit. He dived into the pocket of Flynn's jacket and pulled out a crumpled packet of cigarettes. It was half full, and while deformed, they were still smokeable. Exasperated by the whole situation, he made a quick walk for the exit. A scowl was thrown towards Lea as a wire knocked the smoke from his mouth before he was able to light it.

"You have a stake in this too. You're not going anywhere."

"I'm going to preserve my own life. I've got nothing left to lose, so try and stop me if you want... but I'm leaving."

"You're really starting to sound like her now."

"Like _who_?!" those words were infuriating. Was Lea comparing him to the monster currently clinging to life in the ocean somewhere? The response was shattering.

"Cathy."

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me." It all sounded so farfetched. Spirits? Harmonic convergence? It was too much to believe. And yet here she was, mind and body separated, in a world that was not the one she emerged from. "What can I do about all this? I'm dead."

"You're not dead, Flynn." Raava spoke with an undeniable wisdom. "You have been momentarily separated from your body, but you will be returned if you can complete this task."

"I don't want to be returned. I want to die. Why is this whole fucking universe forcing me to stay alive when all I want is an end! I've done such horrible things... I don't deserve to be alive. I've taken so many lives, committed such terrible atrocities... My very existence is a crime!" There were no tears, simply anger born of frustration and fear. Everyone expected her to be some great leader, but she wasn't. All she knew how to do was destroy. That was all she had ever done. It was the only thing she knew.

"No existence is a crime, Flynn. All beings are born with purpose, you were simply side tracked from yours."

"I..." she opened her mouth to speak, but a comforting hand on her shoulder stopped her. _I get it... I'm supposed to listen_.

"While I may be the spirit of the Avatar, you and I are not connected. Korra did not connect with you due to a tether with previous incarnations... She was able to coalesce before you as a manifestation of her guilt. Before I was imprisoned here, I was cleft in two and my body separated. One half of my power belongs to Korra, and the other half here as you see me." The light spirit attempted to break her shackles, but her tendril was simply reflected by the barrier before her. "However, my counterpart, Vaatu, experiences the same as I. As my power was split, so was his. It was his power that sequestered me... but you possess half of that power."

A grin of relief etched itself upon the General's face. "So... I'm not the Avatar?"

"No, you're not." Korra replied softly.

Flynn placed her hand over Korra's and gripped it tightly. She felt her knees shake and the core of her being shudder. Real, genuine tears burst forth from her eyes. "This is the happiest news I've ever received in my life." She was overcome, her burden lifted. She reached out her right hand and placed it on the barrier, wiping the tears away with the sleeve of her left. Finding an unknown power, the barrier dispelled. Intense agony washed over her body before quickly dissipating. The previous Avatar also vanished from behind her, the ex-millitary and the Light Spirit now alone together.

"The part of Vaatu which you housed has now left you, and he has been returned as a whole. But so have I... Flynn. I have one final request of you."

* * *

"Everyone, come quick!" Manda exploded through the door, a belt of fire surrounding her and protecting her from the cold. It was alright for some.

"What's happened?! Is Kinnara okay?!" Lea retraced the wire wrapped around Will's chest, and the two immediately stopped fighting each other.

"It's a boy!"

* * *

The storm had subsided. The light shone strongly, warming the bodies and the hearts of the weary rebels. Stepping through the furs, the group entered a sheltered sphere. Lying next to a fire was Kinnara, wrapped in furs and sheets, holding her baby close to herself. "His name is Sura. It means 'new life'."

There was a collective relief, expressed through an emotional quiet. "If you don't mind, I would like to speak with William and Lea alone." The masters' expressions protested, but their actions did not. They emerged from the igloo one by one, all huddling as close Manda as they could in hopes of forcing her to share her warmth. Kinnara's smile dropped into a very serious manner. "I want you to take my baby and run."

"What? What are you talking about?" Will snapped, the woman was clearly delirious.

"They think I don't know... But my baby is the Avatar. When he was born, I felt a light enter this world that has been missing for my whole life." Sorrowfully, she gazed upon her child. "He will be the one to fix this world. But they seek to turn him into a weapon." She attempted to stand, but her struggles were in vain. Instead she ushered them closer and passed over her child, regret painted on her face. "I am not long for this world. I cannot protect him. But you can." Lea carefully received Sura, cradling the child bundled in sheets within the furs of his coat. "Please see to it that he grows into one capable of understanding the pain of others, not one that is simply able to spread sorrow. Let him be a person. Not a living weapon." She raised her arms, using the last of her strength to melt the ice of the igloo, adjacent to the entrance. "Go. Fly. I will ensure you're not followed."

From this moment, everything passed by quickly: the closing of the ice wall behind them, the distressed calling of a mother, and the spears of water flying towards the escaping jet.

* * *

Returned now to her body, she felt still. She was so far down below the surface of the water that she could barely feel the heat of the sun. So much for her mission. _Sorry Raava. Guess you're on your own with this one_ _after all_.

"Do not apologise, dear one. I will be with you, always." Her entire body wrapped in light, she found herself once again in the spirit world. This time she was complete. The light of the arch towered over her, and she sighed as she stepped through into the world of the living.

_I guess I'm really not allowed to die then. _


End file.
